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November 9, 2012
Should every vote count? A look at PA HD 131
By Rich Bergen
Young Progressive attempting the upset of a Tea Party Freshman in PA State House District 131 preparing for recount after incredibly close race.
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As Justin Simmons calls for Kevin Deely to be a good sport and move on, I am forced to wonder; if an election is as close as it was in the 131st, shouldn't
every vote be counted?
According to the Salisbury Patch, the election could be anywhere from 162 to 562 votes apart through unofficial tallies. And that's out of approximately 28,000 votes.
Now I understand why Mr. Simmons would like to move on, the unofficial tallies place him in the lead. It is also very convenient for him to call for Mr. Deely to move on. However, I for one believe that every vote counts, or at least should. So when Mr. Simmons says:
"Even if every outstanding absentee and provisional ballot went his way he could still not make up the difference. (click here)"
I feel that he is saying those votes do not matter. And of course Mr. Simmons study that he talks about shows no path for victory for Mr. Deely, why would it? So when Rep. Simmons calls for Mr. Deely to:
"put the people of our district first and concede so we can move forward."
He is making a statement of self-interest and asking Mr.Deely to do something that he isn't willing to do himself; put the voters first. I mean I guess Mr. Simmons would rather move on and be reelected not knowing if he actually won, but would he just step aside if he had lost his bid by the same unofficial margin.
In a democracy, every vote should not only count, every vote should be counted. And I would expect our elected officials to welcome the thought that everyone of their supporters voices were actually heard.